PETALING JAYA: The upcoming Melaka and Sarawak elections bring the total number of state polls since the 15th General Election (GE15) to 11, the most ever held between two general elections.

The previous record was four state elections, between GE14 (2018) and GE15 (2022).

>ALSO READ: Separate state polls here to stay, say analysts

Between GE6 (1982) and GE7 (1986), there were three with one seat in Negri Sembilan also holding its election outside the general election.

The trend shows that state elections are increasingly being held separately from parliamentary polls.

For most voters, it means that going to the ballot box twice to choose a Member of Parliament and State Assemblyman has become a new political reality (see related story).

The current surge in separate state polls came about after the dissolution of the Dewan Rakyat in October 2022 to pave the way for GE15.

Only three states decided to dissolve their assemblies alongside Parliament, namely Pahang, Perlis and Perak.

Ten others did not follow suit.

They include Sabah, Sarawak, Melaka and Johor.

These four states had held elections between 2020 and 2022 and still had several years of their five-year terms to run.

The remaining six that decided not to dissolve their assemblies were Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.

After GE15, these six states held their elections simultaneously on Aug 12, 2023.

Sabah then went to the ballot box last year on Nov 29.

This year, Johor held its polls on July 11.

Negri Sembilan, meanwhile, held its second post-GE15 state election on Aug 1.

Following Melaka, Sarawak will be the last state set to call for elections.

In the history of Malaysian elections, Sabah was the first state to hold its election separately from Parliament, on April 8, 1967.

The Sabah Alliance, comprising the United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) and Sabah Chinese Association (SCA), won 19 of the 32 seats contested, securing a simple majority to form the state government.

While the number of state elections since GE15 is unprecedented, it is a different story when it comes to by-elections.

The period between the fourth and fifth general elections (GE4 in 1974 and GE5 in 1978) recorded the highest number of by-elections, at 29, followed by 28 between GE5 and GE6.

In comparison, only 13 by-elections have been held since GE15.

Six took place in 2023, four in 2024, one in 2025 and two this year.

The two by-elections this year were for the Kinabatangan parliamentary seat and Lamag state seat.

Both state by-elections were held following the death of the incumbent, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, on Dec 5 last year.

Check on the table below for a breakdown of state elections and by-elections held between general elections: